Clutch mechanism



Nov. 17, 1936. R. M. NARDONE 2,061,167

CLUTCH MECHANISM I Original Filed April 30, 1932 "I," 6'6 v I IIIIIIIII/Iz r v i A INVENTOR. Romeo M ardoli.

Patented Nov. 17, 1936 UNITED STATES] PATENT, orrlcs v 2,061,167 oLU'rcn MECHANISM poration, East Orange, N.

New Jersey Original application J., a corporation of April 30, 1932, Serial No.

608,520. Divided and this application June 2, 1934, Serial No. 728,794

3 Claims.

This invention relates to clutch mechanism, and particularly to clutch mechanism of the plural roller type.

An object of the invention is to provide automatic means for controlling the effectiveness of a clutch of the plural roller type. This and invention, reference being had to the appended claims for this purpose.

In the drawing,

Fig. 1 is a central sectional view of a device embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view taken substantially along the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. l; and

Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail view of a portion of the speed responsive mechanism with certain parts in section, and in relative positions varying from those indicated in Fig. 2.

Referring to the drawing, there is disclosed therein a driving mechanism including a pair of gears 46 and 41 rotatable about the axis of a shaft 49 having teeth 11 at one end thereof for connection with any member which is to be driven, the gear 46 being the driving member under certain conditions as will appear more fully hereinafter and the gear 41 being the driving member under other conditions.

As shown, the drive is transmitted to the shaft 49 by way of one or the other of gears 46-41 and a shouldered sleeve or barrel 58 surrounding the shaft 49 and adapted to have a yielding driving connection therewith, through the provision of a suitable torque limiting clutch which, in the formshown, includes a plurality of annular friction discs 59 having connection alternately with the splined inner surface of the sleeve 58 and the splined portion 6| of the shaft 49. The clutch discs may be held in frictional engagement by the provision of annular pressure plates 62 and 63 at opposite ends of the disc assembly; the pressure maintained on the plates being adjustableby the provision of a series of coiled compression springs 64 disposed at intervals of equal distances from the axis of the shaft 49 and adjustably held in place by the provision of pins 66 extending inwardly from a retaining ring 61 which is in turn secured in place by the pressure of adjusting ring 69 threadedly engaging the sleeve 58 near its outer end as indicated at II. A friction reducing sleeve I3 may, if desired, be interposed between the shaft 49 and the sleeve 58 to facilitate relative rotation therebetween when the clutch discs slip upon application of excessive load. A similar friction reducing washer 16 may be interposed between the end of ileeve B and the toothed portion 11 of the shaft In the embodiment herein shown, the gears 46 and 41 are intended to operate alternately to connect a common prime mover (such as the variable speed flywheel shown at 6 in my copending application hereinafter identified) with the shaft 49; and it is therefore to be understood that the gears 46 and-41 represent any suitable pair of alternately operable driving members rotatable at different speeds and successively effective to drive the shaft 49 first at one predetermined speed, and then at a different speed bearing a definite ratio to the first. It will of course be obvious that in installations where it is desired to change from a driving condition to a free wheeling condition or vice versa, the mechanism to be described will operate to effect such change rather than to produce the ratio change above referred to.

In furtherance of this end, the gear 46 has riveted or otherwise secured to its lateral surfaces at equal angular intervals along a circle concentric with its periphery, a plurality of plates 83 (Figs. 2 and 4) on which are formed brackets 84 journally receiving the pins 86 extending through transversely disposed openings in a corresponding plurality of weights 8'! of greater mass at the portions remote from the axis of rotation, as indicated at 88, the said portions 88 being recessed to receive compression springs 89, the opposite ends of which abut the face of the gear 46, and thus tend to hold the weights in the position indicated in Figs. 1 and 2 against the action of centrifugal force which tends to swing these weights in a direction such as to move the inner ends 9| to the right, as viewed in Fig. 1 and thus permit a corresponding movement of cage 93 with which the inner portions 9| of the Weights are operatively linked through suitable means as indicated at 94. As shown best in Figs. 1 and 4, the cage 93 has conical openings 95 at the points through which the members 94 pass and the latter have corresponding conical heads permitting the movement thereof relative to the'cage. Normally the cage 93 rotates in unison with the gear 46 to which it is secured through the connecting axially extending fingers 91 (Fig. 1) between which are mounted rollers 98 received in pockets I provided by recessing the inner surface of the gear 46. Springs 99, anchored to pins IOI extending outwardly from the gear '46 and hooked at their opposite ends to the cage 93 as indicated at I02, tend to draw the cage 93 in a clockwise direction relative to the gear 46, as viewed in Fig. 2, and thus draw the rollers 98 toward the centers of the pockets I00 formed between the gear 46 andthe sleeve 58, but such tendency is unavailing so long as the position of the weights 88 is such as to hold the conical heads of the pins 94 in firm engagement with the conical seats in the cage 93.

In order to eliminate the drive from the gear 41 to the sleeve 58 when the rollers 98 become effective to connect the gear 46 to the sleeve 58, an overrunning clutch of any suitable construction is interposed between the members 41 and 58. As shown in Fig. 3 such clutch may take" a conventional form involving a plurality of rollers I06, I01, and I08 of graduated sizes, normally pressed into engagement with both the recessed surfaces of the sleeve 58 and the inner-cylindrical surface of the hub of the gear 41, by the provision of spring pressed plungers I09, which plungers are however, yieldable to permit free rotation of the rollers when the rotary speed of the sleeve 58 tends to exceed that of the gear 41.

Having thus described the parts entering into the preferred embodiment of the invention as herein disclosed, it will be apparent that upon energization of the prime mover, not shown, the

gear 46 will be rotated and as the device is ac-.

celerated, the weights 88 swing about their pivots 86 in response to centrifugal force and thereby produce a corresponding movement of the pins 94 towardtheir outermost positions, and the springs 99 are accordingly efiective to maintain the rollers 98 in the central positions asindicated in Fig. 4 in which positions free relative rotation between the gear 46 and the sleeve 58 is possible.

As the speed of the prime mover falls off to the point at which the springs 89 become effective, the resulting inwardly directed pull on the pins 94 turns the cage 93 relatively to the gear 46 sufliciently to engage the rollers 98 with the surfaces of both the gear 46 and the sleeve 58,

with the result that the latter is now driven at a higher speed than gear 41, thus causing the rollers I06, I01, and I08 to-overrun the gear". The reduction ratio from the driving member to the shaft 49 is thus definitely changed by an amount which is predetermined by the relative pitch diameters of the gears 46 and 41 and the elements meshing therewith.

There is thus provided, in the present invention, a novel mechanism wherein the speed of rotation of the driven member is definitely increased relatively to the speed of the driving member at an intermediate stage in the driving which has matured into Patent No. 2,024,109,

Dec. 10, 1935;

What is claimed is:

1. In a device of the class described, a member to be driven, a driving member surrounding said first named member but spaced therefrom, means including a plurality of rollers for drivably connecting said members, a plurality of angularly spaced pins mounted on said driving member with their axes disposed in a common plane passing transversely through said rollers at a position intermediate the ends thereof, and means rockable on said pins to control movement of said rollers into operative engagement with both said members, and resilient means cooperating with said first named means for moving said rollers in an opposite direction relatively to said driving member.

'2. In a device of the class described, a memher to be driven, a driving member surrounding said first named member, but spaced therefrom, means including aplurality of rollers for drivably connecting said members, a plurality of angular spaced pins mounted on said driving member with their axes disposed in a common plane passing transversely through said rollers at a position intermediate the ends thereof, and

, means rockable on said pins to control movement of said rollers into and out of operative engagement with said members.

3. In a device of the class described, a member to be driven, a driving member surrounding said first named member but spaced therefrom, means including a plurality of rollers for drivably connecting said' members, a plurality of angularly spaced pins mounted on said driving member with their axes disposed in a common plane passing transversely through said rollers at a position intermediate the ends thereof, and means rockable on said pins to control movement of said rollers into and outof operative engagement with both said members, said last named means including a corresponding plurality of pins movable axially of said driving member, and means for translating the axial movement of said lastnamed pins into relative movement between said rollers and said driving member about the axis of rotation of said driven member.

ROMEO M. NARDONE. 

